Chapter 3 Lucien

"Please."

The man rubbed his palms together, eyes wide in plea. His knees dragged against the ground as he trailed behind his captor. The room was silent, turned upside down and the glass shards on floor indicated that they had been a tussle.

"I beg of you," The Alpha whimpered, his entire frame trembling, "Spare them. You can kill me but spare the lives of my mate and children, please."

Lucien froze mid-step, his entire body going rigid. He gingerly dropped his booted feet down on the floor and the shards underneath crunched loudly. He spun around to face the Alpha and cocked a brow,

"What did you just say?"

The man's round eyes went even rounder and he crawled towards him. Lucien eyed the man with disgust, wondering how this was the man who used to conquer territories.

The years must've been truly easy on him.

His grubby fingers went around Lucien's ankle and he hissed, kicking the man's hands away,

"I told you to speak, not touch!" Lucien barked at him and the man flinched.

"I-I a-apologize," He bowed, folding his hands on his thighs, "I just want to earnestly plead for the lives of my family-"

Lucien scoffed, "So you care nothing for your pack? You don't mind if I decide to take all of their heads off?"

He shook his head, unruly blonde hair flying everywhere, "No! I do but just, please don't hurt them."

Lucien's interest sparked and he cocked a brow, "Why? Give me one reason why I shouldn't touch a hair on their head."

His skin was flushed and there were beads of sweat dotting his forehead. The Alpha crawled forward, desperation shining in his eyes,

"They're innocent, they-they've done nothing wrong."

He'd just fallen right into Lucien's trap. The corners of his lips turned up, revealing sharpened canines. Lucien went on one knee, leaning close to the fumbling man.

His lips was just a hairs breadth away from the Alpha's ear and he tightly whispered,

"You should've thought of that when you worked with Him to bring my family down."

He leaned back to peer at the confusion in the Alpha's emerald eyes. Confusion slowly morphed into realization and realization into horror.

The man shook from head to toe, scrambling backwards, "No. No. No, He said you were dead! He said you-"

Lucien released a monstrous growl and swiped his claws across the man's throat. Blood sprayed everywhere, warm droplets landing on his face and the alpha sputtered helplessly before falling to the ground.

He stared at the body in silence and spat on the floor, spun around and walked away. He slammed the door behind him and made to take another step when a wave of nausea hit him. A shaky exhale escaped him as he leaned his back against the doorframe in a bid to catch himself,

"Alpha! He faintly heard a voice call, footsteps running towards, "Alpha, what's wrong?"

His eyes were screwed shut but he knew who it was. Lucien shook his head, prying her fingers off his arm,

"I'm fine, Joan."

He slowly peeled his eyes open and groaned, regretting his decision immediately. His eyelids burned like hot coal, the flare worsening the longer he kept his eyes open.

Joan gasped and moved in front of him, going to her knees and bowed in reverence,

"My Lord," Her voice was steady, gaze fixed on his leg.

He sucked in a sharp breath through his mouth, a buzzing feeling slowly wrapping around his body. He could feel the muscles in his limbs strengthening, canines elongating slowly,

"My Lord," Joan called again, her head still bowed, "If you keep going at this rate, you'll become unstoppable in no time."

Her head snapped back up and she smiled in admiration,

"Then all that you want will become yours."

He nodded, "Indeed, I just need to push a little."

"Alpha," An unfamiliar voice called and his head whipped to the side catching the sight of two men marching towards him.

He recognised them from this morning, apparently they belonged to his army in the Eastern region. Lucien knew his army was constantly growing, what he didn't know was how numerous they were.

"They're ready for you," The man informed him, his head bowed towards the ground. The other one's gaze trailed to his hand and Lucien caught the grimace.

His claws were still extended and blood coated the back of his palm, not to mention the bits and pieces of flesh stuck in his fingers.

Joan rose to her feet and pulled out a rag cloth from her the pocket in her coat, handing it to him. He offered her a smile and took the cloth from her,

"Thank you," When he was done, he dumped the rag cloth on the floor and turned towards the hall, "Well, I believe it's time for my speech."

Joan smirked in response, while the other two bowed their heads.

The last words echoed in the silence moments after he was done speaking. He could see how they watched him with judgemental and hateful glares, but they couldn't do anything. They were in the palm of his hand now.

"Come on! Move your arses!" The guards barked at them, shoving their captives off the arena and towards the village.

Now that he'd transferred ownership, he was their Alpha and leader whether they liked it or not. They were under his control.

Watching as they weakly trudged away, some of them falling to the ground and yelping as the guards wickedly lashed at them unlocked a vivid memory and he looked away.

Lucien could still hear her cries. His father sorrowful gaze as he apologized moments before he died. And him,

He could never forget the face of the monster who did this to him.

"Lucien," He felt a hand on his shoulder and whipped his head up to see Kaleb quietly observing him.

Lucien shrugged his hand off and stepped to the side, "What do you want?"

"Are you okay?" Kaleb stepped forward, worry shining in his eyes, "You look quite pale-"

Lucien grunted, wiping a hand down his face, "What do you want, Kaleb?"

His right-hand man could be a pain in the arse sometimes. The man was reliable, however he tended to act like a mother figure in Lucien's life. He was a bloody tyrant, not a child who needed coddling.

Kaleb's forehead creased and he reached out to touch him, "You're working too hard, you need to recuperate and-"

A growl ripped out of his throat and his pupils flared, "NO!"

Kaleb's eyes widened, dark brows furrowing even deeper. He looked astonished by Lucien's outburst.

He was surprised as well, it was unlike him to react like that. He shut his eyes and rubbed his fingers against his closed lids, sighing heavily,

"I'm fine, you don't need to worry."

Kaleb hummed, and folded his arms behind his arm, "Someone once told me something I find truly astute, would you like to hear?" He didn't respond so Kaleb took that as a positive response, "He said 'Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it'. Don't you think that to be true, Lucien?"

Lucien scoffed underneath his breath, he knew what the shrewd man was up to. Kaleb was the only one in his army who didn't agree with his methods, the man always found them to be too profane. However, he knew what he was after and no one was going to stop him,

"Not if I gain mastery over my mind, Kaleb," Lucien smirked, and his expression hardened as he gazed into the distance,

"The only way I will become depraved is if I allow it," He looked over his shoulder at his companion, "And I won't go down that easy."

Kaleb smiled wryly and bowed his head. Lucien nodded, facing forward with an exhale,

"What's the next pack on the list?"

"It's an obscure pack hidden deep in the dense woods, there's little information about them and the Alpha. He's pretty much kept his people buried in the shadows, away from the rest of the world," He looked up, a conservative expression on his face, "Frankly, I don't believe they're worth the effort, they're an isolate."

Lucien grunted, rubbing his beard, "Every pack is worth the effort, and I'm not taking any chances."

His eyes caught the crowd in the distance, their faint screams and cries met his ears but his countenance was undeterred,

"The name?"

Kaleb sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat, "It's called Silverstone. Silverstone pack."